Written by

Dave Weidig

CentralOhio.com

Now in its eighth season, the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s weight-management monitoring program for wrestlers continues to be a work in progress.

Alpha weight testing was instituted by the OHSAA in 2006, to prevent athletes from dropping huge amounts of weight early in the season. Numerous coaches have praised it for focusing on the safety and health of wrestlers.

Admittedly it has forced some lineup changes and some questions persist, but reaction remains mostly positive.

“In general, it’s gone very, very well,” said OHSAA Assistant Commissioner Beau Rugg, who oversees wrestling rules and regulations. “It’s based on health and safety, which is always a great thing.

“The basic premise is not being able to go way down or up in weight. But it is difficult to communicate some of the regulations clearly. We continue to tweak them so they’re more clear.”

The National Wrestling Coaches Association instituted the program in 2004, and 35 states are using it. Each wrestler is weighed, has their hydration tested and a certified assessor — usually an athletic trainer or doctor — determines the percentage of body fat through skin fold calipers.

The minimum weight at which a wrestler is allowed to compete is based on 7 percent body fat for boys and 12 percent for girls. Any wrestler whose body fat is below the figure for their gender at the initial weigh-in cannot wrestle below their Alpha weight. Also, a wrestler moving up more than one weight class forfeits his Alpha weight class and has to move up to the next one.

Initial weigh-ins are in mid-November, and wrestlers can appeal the findings for two weeks after the test. Final weights for competition must be determined by the end of January.

Rugg said he’s received only two complaints at the sectional level the past two years about wrestlers not being in the correct weight class.

“When you get to the sectional, everyone needs to be on the same page and have all their ducks in a row,” Rugg said. “It’s probably more of a gentleman’s agreement than documentation. They trust each other in a lot of ways.

“But if there is a question, there has to be something to fill in that void. We’re very, very pleased with the coaches doing their due diligence to stay within the system. We have very good people who love their sport.”

A dissenting voice

Still, not all coaches are enamored with the testing.

“The premise is a good idea. But it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do,” eighth-year Bloom-Carroll coach Allen Ankrom said. “Most kids get down to the weight they want to wrestle prior to the testing. We only have five kids (all of which made the district), so it doesn’t really affect us.

“But our football team made the playoffs, and for them to lose the weight takes too long. I don’t even think they had practiced, and they had to be tested.”

Ankrom said the 7 percent body fat requirement also might be too low.

“I’ve had kids who did nothing but wrestle and worked out all year long, and the lowest they were at was 9 or 10 percent,” he said.

Ankrom also questioned how the cost of the testing might affect some teams.

“Our trainer doesn’t charge us, but for someone with a big team, it could get expensive,” he said.

Lineups affected

Most coaches have wrestlers affected by the testing.

“Our 120 guy, Mason Holt, had to stay at that (weight) because the Alpha testing said he couldn’t go to 113,” Granville coach Marvin Bright said. “He was at 113.2. We have a pretty good group this year in respect to this. Those not in fall sports were able to take their weight down gradually.”

Blue Ace junior Christian Price, 49-4 and a district qualifier at 138, cut weight in 2013 to wrestle at 126.

“This year, he’s been in the mid-140s or lower, and he’s done a really good job,” Bright said. “(The Alpha testing) makes them do that.”

Price was cleared for 132, but didn’t want to try it.

“It seemed like too much of a cut and I would be killing myself to get there,” Price said. “So I’ve stayed at 138 and stayed strong.

“(The Alpha testing) is a lot safer for kids. Coach Bright told me horror stories about how much weight they used to drop.”

Bright said the only drawback might be wrestlers cutting weight hard for the first two or three weeks to reach their Alpha weight.

“You don’t see too many guys late in the season trying to hydrate and cut down,” said Scott Carr, coach of perennial power Northmor, which has six district qualifiers plus an alternate this winter. “It’s a gradual progression. It hasn’t been a bad thing.”

Licking Valley coach Jeremy Tate, a two-time state champion at heavyweight, said it affects mostly the smaller wrestlers, 160 and down.

“The bigger guys might drop one weight class,” he said. “Two of our wrestlers, our 152 and 160, could have dropped another weight class, but the Alpha said they couldn’t. But they’ve both wrestled well and it’s worked out for both of them.”

New Lexington coach Dave Ratliff has guided his team to four Muskingum Valley League titles in five years and a sectional title this season.

“(Alpha testing) affected our middleweight,” Ratliff said. “He’s a district qualifier, but couldn’t make our lineup because he’s in with some of the better wrestlers on our team.”

Peace of mind

The testing has taken some pressure off the coaches, who used to assign extra running for wrestlers to cut weight. Now the athletes can control it with an improved diet and high-tempo practices.

“The doctor or trainer does the testing, and it gives the parents and grandparents peace of mind that their kids are healthy,” Tate said.

Virtually everyone agrees constantly going up and down in weight wasn’t healthy for the athletes.

“Some of the stuff we were doing has been taken out of our hands,” Bright said. “It’s all monitored now.”

Most coaches seem to think the testing will work as long as it continues to evolve.

“It’s a safe-guard for the kids,” Ratliff said. “It gives them an opportunity to see what their body fat is, and it does better for the sport. It’s not the clear-cut, best measure, but it’s not the worst, either.”